( welcome to colorado )
I woke earlier than everyone because I hate interacting early and showered a bit before sunrise. At the moment, I was getting ready for school and I laughed causing Jackie to look up at me.
"What?"
"Nothing, we just have such opposite tastes," I giggled.
She laughed and shook her head as she saw her Ralph Lauren top spread out compared to my Lola Dré top.
I put on my Burberry "Her" perfume as I grab my black Converse backpack. We walk down together as Katherine offers us food.
"The boys are going to take you to school, I will see you later. I can't wait to hear all about your day girls," she smiled.
I smiled back, "Bye Katherine."
I waited for Jackie as she grabbed an apple and we walked outside. It was pretty warm so I folded my cardigan and put it in my backpack. I walked over to the car and Cole spoke out to me.
"Come on, New York. Get in."
Danny told me to sit up front between him and Cole. I smiled at him in thanks as Jackie got in between Nathan and Alex. I'd never been in a car that seated three in each row before. And being this close to Cole made me nervous as he smirked at me.
As we pulled into the school parking lot, I noticed a group of girls staring at Cole and whispering excitedly. Great, so he's that guy.
"Hey, guys! Full car today so, Isaac, no offering rides to random cheerleaders. And we leave at 3:30 sharp!"
I laughed a bit as I got out of the car. I almost walked off, but I saw Jackie still in the car. Before I could go comfort her though, Nathan and Danny went.
I smiled to myself, maybe this won't be so bad after all.
I turned around to look at the school when Cole said, "So, what do you think?"
"It's... big," I answered,
"Not like them fancy Manhattan schools, huh?"
I turned to glare at him, but his smirk stayed.
That's when a girl walk up to Cole and he kissed her. I was a little taken aback, but honestly not surprised. Of course, Cole had a girlfriend. I just turned back around and waited for Jackie to walk in.
"Good luck, today, New York," Cole said, looking back at me as he walked in with the girl.
I nodded as I ran a hand through my wavy hair. The girl looked back at me after, but only briefly and I felt my stomach knot. I knew that look.
Jackie asked the question I was dying to know, "Is she his girlfriend?"
Danny answered, "Erin? Yeah, sometimes. Cole doesn't really date. Like, he has girls that he hooks up with, but he always ends up back with Erin."
I pursed my lips, that sounds awful.
We walked Jackie to her history class and I told Danny I'd find my own way. He nodded and I made my way to my math class. I frowned; I hate math.
However, as I looked for where to sit, a boy offered me the seat next to him.
"Thanks, I was going to die of embarrassment if I didn't sit down soon," I joked.
He laughed, "Any time. I'm Skylar."
"Charlotte. I'm new here."
"Nice to meet you, Charlotte. And don't worry, if you need anyone to talk to, just let me know."
I smiled at him, as the bell rang and the teacher started class. Thankfully, she didn't do the whole "introduce yourself" thing.
Later, after a horrible meeting with the guidance counselor, I found myself silently standing next to Jackie in line for lunch. She had kind of went off on Ms. Jacobs in the office, so I didn't want to make things worse. I didn't even know what to say, so I just didn't say anything. I hugged her afterward and let her know that I was there, no matter what. But it's harder to say that, much more believe it, when your whole family dies in an accident out of nowhere.
"Hey," a voice appears behind me. I turn to see Cole, who leans closer to me, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Getting lunch?" I reply in confusion. Jackie looks equally confused, especially as she eyes how close Cole is to me.
"Let me help you," He says as he puts his hand on the small of my back. I suddenly don't know if I'm grateful that I only had my bag on one shoulder, or if I regret it. He turns to my sister, "Come on, Jackie."
Jackie--the rule follower she is--refuses to cut and says, "No thanks."
Cole just shrugs in response. As we're cutting the line, he asks someone, "Excuse me, mind if we slide ahead?"
The girl lets us pass and I look up to him confused, but he's focused getting a tray for me as I look back at Jackie who's in the same place. He asks me to hold the tray and I grab it. He even goes to pay for me, and I struggle to find my voice out of shock.
"I have money," I say, barely audible.
"Lunch can be rough on your first day," he smiles at me.
For the first time, it seems genuine and I think that maybe I've misjudged him. He thanks the lunch lady and walks us to his table.
"All right, everyone, this is New York," he gestures to me.
"Actually, it's Charlotte," I say with a bit of a laugh at his antics.
A black haired girl in the left corner says hi, but Erin shoots her a look and I feel my stomach knot again.
"Sit," Cole tells us, but none of his friends move. "Guys. Move over."
"It's pretty cramped already," Erin says.
I feel incredibly awkward as he hands his tray to someone, "You can have my seat."
"Thanks," I whisper as I pass by him.
The rest of lunch is pretty awkward as Erin makes it a point to ignore me, but Cole and some others talk to me and it's actually kind of fun.
I walk in a little late to chemistry and see Jackie talking to Skylar as they put on lab coats. I smile and join them as the teacher informs me that we've been put into groups of four for today's assignment.
Just as Jackie's pouring something, a girl walks in and starts talking to Skylar.
"Sky! You know that new girl who was sitting with Cole Walter?"
"Grace," he tries to stop her and bite back a laugh.
"Apparently her mom was like some fashion designer! And she died like six months ago, in a car accident with like her whole family! Except her twin sister. It was really sad, actually."
Jackie and I turn to her and I say, "Hi."
"Holy sh-"
"What she means is sorry."
"Yeah, I'm really super sorry. I didn't know you guys were right there."
"It's fine," I say.
Grace then puts her lab coat on, but apparently she still has questions.
She looks straight at me as she asks,"So- sorry, how do you know Cole?"
"Uh, well I don't. Not really. We only just met," I respond.
"And he just... told you to sit with him?" She asks skeptically.
I laugh a little, "He was just being nice."
Then Skylar and Grace are the ones laughing as the former says, "Okay, no. Cole Walter doesn't do nice."
"Okay, enough," the teacher says. "Don't give Jackie and Charlotte your bad habits."
After class, a girl in a sweater vest meets us in the hall.
"You must be Jackie and Charlotte," she says.
"Jackie," my sister points to herself.
"Charlotte," I point to myself.
"I'm Kiley," she shakes our hands.
"Nice to meet you," Jackie says.
"You guys moved in with the Walters, right?"
"Yeah," I say, meanwhile Grace's head just about explodes behind us.
"Wait what?"
"Alex told me," Kiley says.
"Jackie, Charlotte! You're like, the luckiest girls in the whole school!"
"Grace!"
"What?? I mean think about it, they've landed in boy heaven, okay? There's.. there's Danny with the actor-y brooding thing going on. There's Isaac the cool dude, Alex the bookish shy guy, Nathan the musician, Lee the edgy skater. And then, of course, there's Cole!"
I roll my eyes, "I don't get it, what makes him so special?"
"Okay, Charlotte. Charlotte, look at me. Look at me." I turn to her as we stop walking. "Listen. You can't define it, okay? It's just the 'Cole Effect.'"
"Really? The 'Cole Effect.'" I say, half-mockingly.
"Yes, okay! The 'Cole Effect.' It's why all the senior boys are like, 'What's up, bro?' when they see him in the hallway and why the freshman girls line the parking lot at 3:30 everyday, just to see him drive past."
Suddenly an alarm goes off in my head and I turn to Jackie, who's looking at her watch and saying "We gotta go."
"You came with Cole?" Kiley asks, semi-rhetorically.
We nod as we run through the halls trying to get to the parking lot. As we get out, I see the car and Jackie tries to wave at them to stop, but Cole doesn't. I sigh in frustration. Back on the list he goes.
Kiley tries to reassure that they probably just forgot, but I ignore it. Then, Grace offers us a ride and we part ways with Kiley who has work to go to Grace's car.
"Cole waits for no one," Skylar laughs, but I just roll my eyes.
That's when we see Erin and as soon as she catches my gaze, she starts walking in our direction. I sigh as I already have a feeling how this conversation is going to go.
"Hey," Erin calls out, "Charlotte, right?"
I purse my lips, "Yeah. Hi. Erin?"
She hums and she puts on a face as if she's some kind of sweet angel looking down on me, "Look I don't know who you think you are, or whatever, but just so you know, Cole's only being nice to you 'cause his mom told him to."
Skylar chimes in, "Yeah, sounds like classic Cole."
"Trust me, Cole likes his girls a lot less 'vanilla' than Ms. Brandy Melville over here."
I scoff, "It's Lola Dré."
Erin just looks at Skylar who says, "'Keep your hands off my guy.' What happened to female solidarity?"
We all proceed to shoot him a look that makes quiet down.
I look back at Erin, "I don't know what the problem is. I'm not interested in Cole, nor is he interested in me. It was just one nice act, 'cause I'm not sure if you noticed but he deserted us after school."
She doesn't look convinced and says, "Just watch it. I'm not buying this little 'Orphan Annie' act."
I bite back a scoff and laugh bitterly, "Clearly."
I can see her waver, because there's no way she doesn't know what she just said is beyond messed up. But she just says whatever and walks away.
Well, she tries to.
"Erin," I call out and she turns around. "I like your bag. It looks almost authentic."
"It is authentic," she says as she grabs it protectively.
I give a doubtful look, "No, I don't think so. See, my mom designed a range for that brand. The leather's far too thin, and the logo's supposed to be stitched on the inside, not printed." I watch as shock washes over her but she tries to mask it. I smirk, "Shall we check?"
Her friend tries to peek, but Erin rips the bag away from her and walks away angrily.
I smile, but it starts to drop as I see her get farther away. Meanwhile, Grace, Skylar, and even Jackie are shrieking at how funny it was.
In Grace's car, I sigh, "That was mean, I shouldn't have done that."
"She deserved it, " Skylar says.
"Oh, stop. I actually think you deserve ice cream after that performance."
That's how we end up taking some Monty's ice cream home for Katherine. She smiles and says, "I'm gonna hide this in the freezer, don't tell anyone it's there. It's just for us."
I laugh as George comments that he heard that. Then, I hear Jordan exclaim joyfully that he's found Rumple in the dining room. I go upstairs to put my stuff away when a few seconds later I hear George yell, "Food!!" I laugh as Jackie and I walk back downstairs.
I see Jordan putting Rumple in his little habitat and laugh. Lucy would freak if she knew there was a snake here, she loves animals. The thought makes me sigh and I realize just how tired I am from today's events.
As Katherine sets the table, Jackie asks if she needs help.
"Oh! No thanks, just have a seat."
Jackie struggles a bit, but she finds a seat eventually. Meanwhile I tap Katherine's shoulder as she's pouring Cole's drink.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"I'm just a little... tired," I say hesitantly and her face seems like a light bulb has gone off. "Can I just rest upstairs? I can eat later."
She nods comfortingly, "Of course, Char. Go get some rest."
I smile at her, "Thanks."
I hear a shuffle of feet, and I stir awake from my nap. I stretch and jump to see the back of someone who's not Jackie.
I get up from my bed, "Cole? What are you doing here?"
He smiles as he puts food on the desk, "Dinner." He then turns around and leans on the left side of the desk while holding a wooden tray.
My eyes narrow jokingly, "How do I know it's not poisoned?"
He laughs, "Why would I poison you, New York?"
"You can never be too careful," I shrug jokingly, but take a bite of the sandwich anyway. "After all, you already deserted my sister and I after school."
He sighs and looks down, "About that. I should have waited for you guys. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you should have," I say quietly as I finish up one half of the sandwich. Gosh, he probably thinks I'm a pig... but what can I say? A girl's gotta eat.
"It's been," he trails as he seems to remember something. "a day."
I sip some water and nod, "Yeah. It really has."
Then he smiles, "Let me make it up to you."
I feel calmer now, so I nod and follow him outside. He leads me to a horse, one that has beautiful white mane.
"Can you toss me that?" He points to a bucket. "Just a half scoop is fine."
He sitting on the fence as I pass it to him. He starts to feed the horse and I feel myself soften towards him again. I like this Cole, I like him a lot.
"You ride?" He asks.
I smile as I remember Lucy and how we both loved it. I nod, "Both my sisters and I did. Jackie quit after seventh grade, but I couldn't. I loved the horses too much."
My eyes well up as I think of Lucy.
"What's wrong?" He asks.
"Lucy," I trail. "My older sister loved them too. All kinds of animals, really. When I first saw the horses you guys had, I wanted to ride one so bad. But, I don't know if it'll make me feel closer to her... or like I'm betraying her."
Cole waits a beat, "I'm sorry. No one deserves that. But, I think you should try. At least then, you'll know."
I wipe my eyes and nod, "What about you?" It's obvious he does but, I don't know what else to say.
"I've been riding all my life," See? "This is Custard. He's a beauty."
I smile, "He is, but 'Custard'?"
He laughs, "I named him when I was like six, okay?"
I laugh with him, "Noted."
He gets down from the fence, "Here. Wanna feed him a little?"
"Sure," I smile. I reach out slowly to touch Custard and he cuddles into my hand with a soft, breathy whinny. I feed him and pet his mane. I smile widely and say softly, "Hello, handsome."
I turn to Cole as Custard finishes the feed. Cole's blue eyes feel like their piercing me and everything around quiets.
"Let me take you for a ride."
I smile but shake my head, "I would, but Jackie and I usually do our homework together."
"Oh, come on. Trust me. You'll love it."
I just keep looking at him, unsure of what to say. He's smiling at me and it makes it all the more enticing. We're quickly brought back to Earth, however, as Alex (in an awkward stance) informs us that Erin is here.
Cole sighs, "That's my cue. See you later, New York."
I nod and when he and Alex walk away, I begin walking inside. Back in my room, I finish the dinner that Cole had brought up. I stare at the sandwich for a second. What the hell was that?
elle speaks !
this chapter is so long just bc I wanted to finish ep1 lmao...